Dolgeville’s first-ever Relay for Life draws 35 teams

Monday

A sign placed in front of the Macy’s Angels team tent read “When you lose both parents to cancer within four months of each other, you want to fight back!”

A sign placed in front of the Macy’s Angels team tent read “When you lose both parents to cancer within four months of each other, you want to fight back!”
Nicole Macy and her team strode to do just that by participating in the first-ever Dolgeville Relay for Life event.
“It’s amazing, mind-blowing, seeing the survivor’s lap and just how inspirational they are,” said Macy, whose parents Dort and Tony Macy died in July and November, respectively, of last year.
Relay for Life gathers teams from across the region together to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Relays are held throughout the country each year. Herkimer Elementary School was the site for its first relay last week since the facilities normally used at Ilion Junior-Senior High School are under construction this year.
Relay requires at least one member of each team to participate by doing laps around the track throughout the 24-hour event. Some of the highlights for participants include a luminary ceremony and the survivor’s lap.
Stephanie Boucher, director for special events for the American Cancer Society Eastern Division, said approximately 50 survivors participated in the survivor’s lap.
Among those walking Saturday in the survivor’s lap were Mary Iocovozzi, who survived breast cancer after surgery and chemotherapy in 2002.
“It’s kind of a bittersweet thing,” said Iocovozzi, about doing the survivor’s lap. “It reminds me of the work involved and about getting through each challenge. The sweet part is that we’re done and we’re happy to be here.”
Linda Belden also participated in the survivor’s lap. She was diagnosed with bladder cancer two years ago and also needed surgery and chemotherapy. Now in remission, Belden saw this as an opportunity to bring attention to the cause.
“The battle’s won, but the war isn’t,” she said, noting she lost her father and grandmother to colon cancer. Belden is a registered nurse and director of staff education at Little Falls Hospital, one of the corporate sponsors for the event.
Nick Stacy spearheaded the efforts to get a relay event in Dolgeville after he lost his mother, Arlene Lyon, and another woman he viewed as a second mother to cancer. He said he had participated in relay events in Albany and wanted to bring it to his alma mater.
“She would be overwhelmed,” said Stacy, when asked what his mother would think of the event. Stacy’s hair was spray-painted purple, the relay’s color, after the Dolgeville organizers reached a goal of sending over 4,000 e-mails to help raise money for the event.
About 35 teams participated overall.
Some tents also aimed to raise even more money for the American Cancer Society by selling raffle tickets, gift baskets, doing face painting and hair braiding and vending food such as fried dough.
Joan Ploss, of Stratford, and other members for Team Ploss rolled out and fried dough for walkers. She said they family made fried dough during a youth church group event and thought it would be a good way to bring in some more money for Relay for Life.
“Our family has definitely been effected by cancer,” said Ploss, who said they had about 12 family members on the team. Ploss said this was their first year participating in the relay.
“We got bigger plans for next year,” she said.

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